The latest Marquette University Law School poll shows that 60% of voters prioritize keeping property taxes low over funding public schools in a sharp rebuke of Gov. Evers’ 400-year veto.
A brand-new Marquette University Law School Poll released Wednesday reveals a significant shift in Wisconsin voter priorities: 60% of registered voters now say reducing property taxes is more important than increasing funding for K-12 public schools, compared to just 40% who prioritize school funding.
This marks the highest level of concern for property taxes in the poll’s 26 surveys asking the question since 2013, reversing a trend that favored school spending from 2015 to late 2022.
The survey of 818 registered voters highlights growing frustration with rising property tax bills, which have reached their highest levels since 2018 in many areas. Voters cite economic pressures, including inflation and stagnant wages, as key drivers behind the preference for tax relief over additional education dollars.
This development spells bad news for Democrats, particularly Gov. Tony Evers, whose controversial 2023 partial veto—known as the “400-year veto”—extended an annual $325 per-pupil school revenue limit increase through the year 2425. The move, upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2025, allows districts to raise more through property taxes without new state aid, which Republicans blame for fueling recent tax hikes. Evers has defended it as necessary given GOP resistance to boosting state school funding.
With Republicans pushing constitutional amendments and bills to curb such vetoes and repeal the extension, the poll’s findings amplify GOP messaging on tax relief. As negotiations over the state’s budget surplus continue, Democrats face pressure to deliver tangible property tax cuts to regain voter trust ahead of key elections.
